We recently connected with Abbie Miller and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Abbie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to start by getting your thoughts on what you are seeing as some the biggest trends emerging in your industry.

There are a few ways I can talk about trends in the photography industry.

First, there are the trends that (some) photographers seem to follow. Let’s make everything out of focus using a fish-eye lens! Let’s turn everyone orange! Let’s make everything dull and almost black and white, but not quite!

These are all trends that come and go. They are fleeting. One day, maybe it’s next week, next year or in the next decade, you will look at those photos and regret allowing your photographer make you look like an Oompa Loompa. You will regret using the trend of “selective coloring” (red roses in a black and white photo… 1991 called!) You will regret being too trendy in your clothing choices (aren’t we all) and your photography styles. Why? Because they don’t age well. It may be fun right now on Instagram, but in 20 years, the family portrait hanging on the wall in your home should look TIMELESS. Clean, colorful, maybe black and white but TIMELESS. The truth is, you should love that portrait MORE in 20 years than you do right now.

Second, there are trends I’m seeing outside the photography industry. The big one right now is that people are FINALLY understanding the value of a good, quality headshot. Professionals on LinkedIn are finally getting their photos taken with the purpose of actually looking like a professional, not like they went on vacation or just attended a wedding. They are hiring photographers to take their headshot for their blogs, book covers, marketing and more. And it makes a HUGE difference! Your potential clients should see the effort you put into representing yourself as a serious professional. That tells them (in no words at all) that you will put in the effort to do your best work for THEM. Sometimes a headshot is the difference between getting hired or being forgotten.

Abbie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Abbie Miller. I am a Certified Professional Photographer. I am the owner of Stories Framed Photography, a portrait and commercial studio in Brookfield, Wisconsin. I photograph high school senior portraits, headshots, food and products.

When working with people, the thing that is most important to me above all else is that the person standing in front of my camera is COMFORTABLE. I want them to be relaxed and at ease. Many people come in with major apprehension – sometimes they are being forced to come in by their boss or their parents. I want these people to walk out of my studio happier than when they arrived. I want them to love their portrait – sometimes for the first time in their lives. I want them to (finally!) have a good, positive experience getting their photo taken.

Outside of running my business for the last ten years, I also have a cute “little” family (they’re all taller than me!). My husband, our two teenage kids and giant fur baby all surround me with love and support. I love Starbucks in the morning and a good craft beer or glass of red wine at night. I’m an avid reader and have a mild addiction to my Peloton.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

Back when I got my first DSLR camera, I was asked to take family photos for friends. Of course I said yes! I love photography, right?! And then when they (sometimes) gave me a $20 gift card for Barnes + Noble, I was absolutely delighted! The year my youngest child (who is now 16) started Kindergarten, I knew I had to go do something. Anything. My poor husband spent that entire year trying to convince me to start a photography business. He told me people got paid – real money! – to take photos. I didn’t listen to him because I didn’t believe I was qualified. I wasn’t qualified to call myself a (gulp) “professional photographer” and I certainly wasn’t qualified to run a business.

Right around the time of my 38th birthday, I must have had a mid-life realization. I suddenly decided to do it. Why? I didn’t want to be one of those people who turned 40 and had a list of regrets. Nope. I was going to give it a good, college try so that in two years, I could say, “well, at least I tried.”
I’m proud to say that it’s been TEN YEARS.

In full disclosure, in the beginning it wasn’t all that fun. The number of clients was closer to zero than any other number. The amount of money in the expense column was higher than the revenue column. Oftentimes I flat-out felt like a fake. I learned a lot of painful lessons, dug deeper than I even thought I was able, resisted the urge to quit (many times) and simply PERSEVERED. When things were tough, I kept going. When everything seemed to be fantastic, I kept going. I’ve learned to better balance my work and life. I’ve learned to say no. I’ve learned to delegate. I’ve learned to embrace the life of a small business owner – but not let it overtake me.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Going way back to the beginning – I knew I needed to properly take a photo using Manual Mode. (The “A” on the camera dial does NOT stand for “Awesome”.) The book that made the difference for me was Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson.

Once I was established and started to find my way, I joined Professional Photographers of America and started attending their annual conference, Imaging USA. This organization has single-handedly given me an amazing education, powerful confidence and a circle of similar-minded friends.

Finally, almost 5 years ago, I was told to read Profit First by Mike Michalowicz. This is not a book at the top of every creative’s TBR list. However, it should be. It taught me how to simply and easily organize my money so I can do what I want to do – take pretty pictures and talk to people about them.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.storiesframed.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/storiesframed
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/storiesframed
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/storiesframed
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/storiesframed
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQK25D8XaQhhHQqQSKfX0Jw
• Yelp: Stories Framed Photography

Image Credits
Abbie Miller/Stories Framed Photography